We have been told that we must suspend disbelief and
that children should be believed by the first statement
that needs to be made is that the diaries cannot be taken
literally but have to be interpreted. If we do not accept
this we would have to accept the following as literal
true statements:-

"the family kill a big sheep with their
fingernails and take it to the hospital to get better and
bring it back" (CH 21.1.88)

"My mum flies on a broomstick" (JB 22.1.88)

"They throw lots of babies in the bins. I was
murdered when I was a baby and shoved in the bin"
(LW 26.2.88)

"They kill all of us at the parties. I'm Superman
at the parties and I kill the witches" (CH 25.4.88)

In fact most of the children disclosing would actually
be dead. It is clear to us that anybody looking at these
diaries must interpret and it is insufficient to say that
"they were telling the truth" or "we
believe the children".

Furthermore, we do not consider that suspending
disbelief should also mean a suspension of commonsense or
the use of critical faculties. We have looked at these
diaries within their context, without being selective,
with an awareness of possible influences upon the foster
parents and the children and with knowledge of basic
child psychology.

The Context of the Disclosures

The first fact that strikes you is that until Mr. W. briefed the foster
parents with the Satanic indicators all four children
were talking entirely about their family, of which seven
are ESN, being involved in sexual abuse and what they
call witch parties. There are only vague references to
strangers.

The second, even more pertinent fact, is that until
Mr. W.'s presentation of the Satanic indicators all the
children are talking about sexual abuse and the witches
parties at their homes. It is not until the 5.3.88 that
they start to talk about a big house with a swimming pool
and even then, only with reference to sexual abuse and
nothing 'Satanic'. They only start to identify other
locations in the context of witch parties in July 1988
when the foster parents had been asked to take the
children around to identify locations.

The children all lived in typical semi-detached
council houses on council estates. As we all know the
walls of these houses are paper thin, the rooms are very
small with the average living room being 14' by 12' and
they have open gardens. In our experience it is virtually
impossible on council estates to keep anything secret
that can be seen or heard (unfortunately sexual abuse is
often neither) and information and particularly anything
of a spicy or bizarre nature passes around very quickly.

The family were under constant surveillance from the
authorities and from an interview with a neighbour it is
clear that they attracted attention to themselves as
these families often do. The neighbour states that she
had "seen young children naked in the garden eating
their own excrement and running around the garden naked
or [with] very little on even on freezing cold
days". She adds that "any talk of witchcraft or
any type of Satanic practices regarding the family
surprises me a great deal. I have never head or witnessed
anything like that on this estate before". The
neighbours do maintain that the family used to frequently
return from the pub and continued 'parties' with a lot of
shouting and swearing.

Despite this the social workers have accepted that the
family were having witch parties at which sheep were
being slaughtered in the front room or the back garden
and the front garden and were subsequently left in the
garages in wheelie bins, that abortions were committed in
the front room, that more than eight witches danced
around singing in the front room, that later one of the
children had her stomach cut open on a table in the front
room and that [Mary] witnessed seven children being
killed along with acts of cannibalism. We do not consider
that the belief that this could be kept secret matches
basic commonsense or reality. Outside of the babies and
the children, sheep are large, noisy, difficult animals
and when one was slaughtered by an Indian on a council
estate in Leicester it hit the national newspaper
headlines the following day. In our view another
explanation has to be sought.

The Diaries of Individual Children

[Craig]

[Craig] was only 3 years of age when he left home in
December 1986 and was only 4 years of age when he was
trying to recall events that could only have happened
between July and December 1986, i.e. between 2 ½ and 3
years of age. [Craig] is particularly significant because
he had been in care for a year before the other children
and some major themes start with him; witches (27.11.87),
killing sheep (21.1.88), babies being killed (21.1.88),
Selina (3.3.88), blood in the bath (27.2.88), Mr. Brown,
the first stranger identified (10.3.88), Mr Pooh Pants
(22.1.89). [Craig]'s diaries for November, December 1987
and January 1988 are clearly talking about his family at
home, "my granddad's a monster, both daddies are
clowns, etc. He mentions daddy dressing up as a witch
(21.11.87) but according to his foster parent he went to
his school panto on the 9th December where an older girl
was dressed as a witch and since getting home (and
subsequently) had never stopped talking about the family
being witches who hurt him.

It is clear that anybody who has hurt or frightened
[Craig] is a witch, monster or clown. His description of
witches, who are all members of his family is the
traditional one of a young child; they fly on
broomsticks, have black teeth, long sharp fingernails,
long black hair, dance around singing "witchy,
witchy, witchy" except that they also sexually abuse
him, bite his bum and pooh on the carpet. In with this he
mixes Dracula, Soldiers, Swords and Dragons and shooting
with guns. [Craig] is the first to introduce the idea of
babies and children being killed but as you would expect
of a child of this age he has no real concept of killing
or death and quite happily and unchallenged talks about
killing a baby and "then it was alright, killing a
relative (who is of course still alive), killing all the
children at the parties and himself killing the witches,
[James] being killed and [Rebecca] being killed and made
better. [Craig] also complains that his social worker has
murdered him because she shouted at him.

Likewise, [Craig] introduces the concept of sheep
being killed with bare hands, sticks and knives but also
being taken to hospital to be made better. He clearly
refers to his father being big mister but this is later
translated into the master who organises the Satanic
rites. After he had witnessed his foster mother giving a
blood sample at hospital and on the same day watches
'Jaws' (which contains sufficient blood and water for
anybody) he accuses the foster mother of having a bath
full of blood, a theme that he pursues for some months.
It is clear that [Craig] has a fascination and strong
identification with Superman and in March talks about
Superman's girlfriend being Lina (actually Lois Lane or
Miss Lane). His speech is never clear and on questioning
he answers 'S'Lina' which become 'Selina' because of the
significance in the literature of a Selina as a Satanic
figure. Likewise he mentions a little puppet but corrects
himself, this was translated by social workers into
poppet as these are the dolls that witches are supposed
to stick pins in (although they are actually
"moppets").

In March [Craig] is talking about the black staff at
his nursery (an Indian lady) and in May he begins to talk
about Mrs. Brown. In May he is the first child to
identify locations away from the family home - a Church
where the murderers hang you and the house with the
swimming pool.

[Charles]

He was only 21 months old when he left home to be
placed in the same foster home as his brother. Not
surprisingly he says very little except that on the 7
July 1988 he claims that his daddy took a baby up in a
balloon and stabbed it and them cooked it. His foster
mother records that on the 31 August 1988 after his
social worker left he had talked non-stop about ghosts
and snakes. His only other comment was in June 1988 when
he passed the Church at the back of Wollaton Park
(previously identified by the other children) and stated
that it was the Devil's Church.

[James]

[James] was the oldest child at 7 years 4 months when
he left home but is ESN. As with [Craig]'s diary
November, December 1987 and January, February 1988 he
talks exclusively about his family being monsters,
witches and clowns who hit and burn him at their homes,
He has the same concept of witches as [Craig] and claims
that they have curly black hair and broomsticks. He tends
to agree with [Rebecca] or is prompted by leading
questions, e.g. shown book of animals, asked about sheep
at witch parties, asked about strange men at witch
parties, asked about house with swimming pool, asked
about Tony, asked about Mr. Brown, asked about going to a
farm and the boat.

Interestingly he tells his foster mother that
[Rebecca] was wrong about the babies. Of similar age to
his sister and in the same foster home with her his
disclosing cannot be separated from [Rebecca]'s as it is
clear that the foster mother discusses things with them
together. [James] claimed that [Mary] was present at the
witch parties which she now denies.

[Rebecca]

As with [James] starts to talk about the family having
witch parties at home in July 1988 two months after
[Craig]. However, it is [Rebecca] on the 5 March 1988 who
first tells about being taken in a car with a driver who
is a stranger to a house where they are sexually abused
in a secret bedroom and videoed. She is supported by
[James] on the 17 March 1988 who talks about two large
houses with swimming pools and the children being
transported by taxi. [Lily] confirms this and adds that
they go in the car with Uncle Brown.

These Diaries March-May 1988 in which they talk about
an unknown place and strangers are interesting in that
only sexual abuse is described without any mention of
witchcraft parties, slaughter of animals, babies, etc, It
is the only part of the Diaries that has received any
sort of corroboration to the extent that one of the
prisoners when interviewed in prison claimed that his
wife had a friend called Mr. Brown who went off with her
and the children and that she had another friend called
Roy who was a taxi driver, There must be a suspicion that
the children might have been taken elsewhere to be abused
by paedophiles although reference should be made to the
section "influences on the children".

Unfortunately this information was never extracted
together and the children were never interviewed by
social workers or Police to ascertain whether they could
tell a coherent story of what, when, who, where, how,
etc. If they were abused in this way with the involvement
of strangers it could have happened only six months
previously. [Rebecca]'s diaries for April and May 1988
are missing and we next find her talking about other
locations where witch parties took place in August 1988
after questioning by her foster mother. At this stage she
claims that her father cut her stomach open in the living
room and that the doctors and nurses at the hospital were
witches who came to the witch parties at the Archway,
Wollaton Park. At this point it is worth commenting on
the cutting up and stabbing of children in a council
house living room. We know that [Rebecca] had previously
been to hospital and had an operation scar on her stomach
identified as his by the surgeon.

Subsequently in the desire to believe [Rebecca] it was
suggested that Satanists were clever people and that they
had cut her along the same scar so it could not be
noticed. We know that this is medically impossible. All
surgeons can recognise their own operations and scar
tissue does not heal or if it does would be puckered and
very distorted. If you had watched too many westerns in
which bullets are cut out shoulders you might believe
that operations could be conducted successfully in a
dirty council sitting room.

However, in reality it is doubtful whether a G.P.
could do this without serious medical consequences and
even a skilled surgeon with sterilized instruments and
trained nurse would have difficulty in a non-sterile room
never mind in the middle of a witch party. Likewise in
believing the children there appears to be little
conception of the consequences of stabbing and mutilating
animals or children. We have been told that plastic
sheeting would be put on the floor (assuming that all the
furniture had been taken out) but blood under pressure,
as any policeman knows, would splatter the walls and
ceiling extensively and the smell of mutilated babies in
wheelie bins or garages would be overpowering. In our
view there is no way that this sort of practice could
take place in a semi-detached council house undetected.
Initially [Rebecca] talked about dolls not real babies.
[Rebecca] claimed that [Mary] was present at the witch
parties which is now denied by [Mary].

[Kelly]

Her diaries are missing but in any case as the
youngest of the B. children she would tend to agree with
her brother and sister.

[Lily]

[Lily] was aged 5 years when she left home with
[Maggie] and joined her older sister [Anna] who had been
in care for eight years. In the diaries for November,
December 1987 and January she is consistent with [Craig],
[Rebecca] and [James] in identifying home and the family,
except that she talks about parties but not specifically
witches. The main content during this period is of the
family at home burning her with sticks. After Mr. W.'s presentation on
the 9th February 1988 she talks on the 19th February 1988
about the murder of babies and the bath being full of
blood. In March to May 1988 she agrees with [James] and
[Rebecca]'s story about the house with the swimming pool
but after that says nothing significant until months
later when she talks about the fantastic castle, murders
on a boat, Mr Pooh Pants and a local vicar's involvement.

On the 8.5.89 after watching a Blue Peter programme on
the caves under Nottingham she identifies this as a place
where there were monsters.

[Maggie]

The same age as [Rebecca] and, therefore, the second
oldest child. [Maggie] despite being in the same
household as [Lily] says nothing except in reply to
direct questioning: 'Yes' in support of [Lily] talking
about the big house (10.3.88) until 10 months later when
she claims that all the family killed and ate a man on a
boat and Mr. Pooh Pants burnt a body. Otherwise she never
talks about witch parties, killing of animals, babies
etc.

[Anna]

Aged 11 years at the time of the disclosures [Anna]
had been in care since 1980 when she was 2 and a half.
The only disclosures she made are in January 1988 having
been prompted by her sister's talk. She then talks about
witches, a "baby doll" with a willie being
used, being buried in the garden, eating spiders, etc. We
know from the records that at the time [Anna]'s favourite
library books were witch stories. [Anna] talks about
either her uncle or grandfather being dressed as a devil
and being called Master. This has been taken as
significant but we do not accept that any child younger
than three would remember the name used by anybody eight
years ago. Children may recall traumatic events but have
little memory of verbal communication as it has little
significance to them at that age.

[David]

Although slightly older than [Craig] when he left home
[David] says nothing of significance.

[Claire]

Left home at 20 months, the same age as [Kevin] but
says nothing.

[Alice]

Left home at 2 and a half years, the age at which
[Craig] remembers so much but says nothing.